Zendo

Zendo's theme is Zen Buddhist practice. One player is the Master and the others are Students. The Master creates two structures (or "koans") with Icehouse pieces. One of the Master's koans follows a particular rule (or "has the Buddha Nature"), while the other does not. Koans that have the Buddha Nature are marked with a white stone; koans that do not are marked with a black one.

The Students try to create koans that follow the same rule. When a Student is convinced s/he has guessed the Master's rule, s/he can state it aloud, paying for the privilege with "guessing stones" s/he earned earlier. The Student who first states the rule correctly wins the game.

Rules Used in Past Seattle Cosmic Games

A koan has the buddha nature if it has at least one blue piece. A koan has the buddha nature if it does not have any yellow pieces. A koan has the buddha nature if it has at least one blue piece and at least one red piece. A koan has the buddha nature if it has more green pieces than pieces of other colors. A koan has the buddha nature if it has at least two axes of symmetry. A koan has the buddha nature if it has a total pip count which is prime. A koan has the buddha nature if it has a total pip count of 6, not counting red pieces.